Bahrain coastline ruined after reclamation

Manama, May 23, 2010

A picturesque coastline has allegedly been ruined after a VIP reclaimed a section of the sea to create a man-made island, according to an area councillor.

It has led to a stagnant stretch of water between the island and the mainland in Karzakan, which Ali Mansoor says has become a hub for insects and harmful bacteria.

He said the 200 by 80 metre bay had turned a murky black colour and the Northern Municipal Council now had no other option but to have it reclaimed considering it may prove hazardous to villagers and fishermen.

It has since contacted the Royal Court to have the bay, which is owned by the government, turned into municipal property.

Councillors fear that the bay could be sold or given to another VIP rather than offered to the Northern Municipality for public use.

The council has already prepared plans for the bay, which if reclaimed, will be turned into a miniature public park with children's rides, swimming areas, parking spaces and family seating areas.

"The VIP, who owns a big plot in the village's sea, decided to build an island in the middle of it creating a bay, which is ugly and unhygienic," Mansoor told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).

"We are against reclamation and will always be, but in this case we had to ask for it because there was no other solution.

"The council has voted to reclaim the bay and plans to turn it into a public facility have already been drawn up.

"But we fear that some other VIP may steal the government land and build on it and this is why we have contacted the Royal Court to have it registered as municipal property.

Mansoor said residents had high hopes that the stretch of water would be reclaimed and added to the coast.

"Residents have already lost parts of the sea due to reclamation and they won't accept losing more," he said.

Council services and public utilities committee chairman Yousif Rabea'a said Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Minister Dr Juma Al Ka'abi, who ordered them to take action, had already inspected the area.

"The bay is ugly and unhygienic and this is why the minister has ordered us to take action and we have decided to reclaim it," he said.

"The problem is that we fear that some VIP may take it and turn it into an investment project like what has happened to the village's sea, which has mysteriously gone into private hands.

"That's something that parliament has to look into, our job is to protect what's left, and ensure it remains for the public."-TradeArabia News Service